NBA 08 Featuring Block Party – PSP – Preview

Sony’s NBA franchise was among the first sports
games to hit the PSP when the system launched a few years ago. Last year’s entry
was fairly lackluster, and left a lot of PSP sports gamers disappointed with
weak basketball mechanics. However, the game did offer some amusement in the way
of some quirky and fun mini-games that worked to the benefit of handheld play.
This year’s entry won’t shake up the formula too much, but the PSP version will
offer more mini-games than its predecessor to keep your attention. NBA 08 will
up the ante with more mini-game features and some much-needed pacing
adjustments, hopefully keeping the game fresh for fans of the series.

The on-court play in NBA 08 has been slowed down
a bit in order to keep the pace from becoming way too frantic as it was in last
year’s game. Additionally, there are a few new things to help out players, like
a new rebound assist that will pop up an icon that gives players a guesstimate
as to where the ball will land, and icons that will display who your passes will
go to.

The biggest factor in the PSP version will be the
mini-games. Returning are the pinball mini-game (which will now let you download
new tables via wi-fi when the game is released), Hot Shot!, Big Shooter, the
All-Star Weekend, and the Conquest mode, albeit with some big changes to the
interface and the opportunity to train your players and gain some extra medals.

The Carnival games have been put into a Block
Party section, which allows them to be easily found and play if you can only do
so in short bursts. While playing through the Block Party section, you’ll find a
ton of goofy mini-games that touch on a variety of casual themes. You’ll be able
to play the aforementioned Pinball, Hot Shot!, and Big Shooter modes, a new
Arkanoid-style game called “Shootin’ Bricks”, and a whack-a-mole inspired game
called “Block a Shot”. These games translate well to the portable nature of the
game, letting players pick up and play them whenever they have a second without
having to invest a serious amount of time to playing a game of basketball.

Graphically, the game could use some work, but it
moves along pretty smoothly. The player models look a bit too glossy and
mannequin-like and the animations are a little clunky, but the game never
falters from its 60 frames per second clip, and the courts look pretty nice.

NBA 08 is looking to capitalize on the casual
draw of a portable system with the new Block Party features and a pretty
engaging collection of mini-games. Look for the game to release early next
month.

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